The three were from El Salvador and were members of the MS-13 gang, authorities said.

Stephanie Garcia's family said it was a tough hour for them but now, they're one step closer to closure.

"(It's very difficult) to actually look at the person who took my daughter's life," Priscilla Garcia said.

Priscilla Garcia said it's hard having to look at Lopez-Aguilar and wonder how a person that she could have easily passed by the street could have done what he did.

She added, "My daughter was just an ordinary person like you and me, working everyday."

Lopez-Aguilar faces 40 years in federal prison and then, deportation to El Salvador.

"It's, at least, a step in the right direction," Priscilla Garcia said.

Authorities said Lopez-Aguilar's accomplice Pablo Ortiz should enter his guilty plea next week in connection with the armed robbery. The other accomplice, Francisco Melgar, is still on the run and is likely in another country, police said.

"We don't know what (Melgar) is up to or what he can do," Priscilla Garcia said. "If it could happen to us and my daughter, it could happen to anyone anywhere."

But Priscilla Garcia said she's hopeful that justice will eventually be served.

Authorities said they are not giving up on their search for Melgar. They said it's only a matter of time before he's caught.

The sentencing for Lopez-Aguilar has not been set but should happen in the next 90 days.

Copyright 2011 by KOAT.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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